Drier unit



DRIER UNIT Filed 001.. 28, 1954 H a Fig./

United States Patent Ofiiice DRIER UNIT lbert J. MacDonald, Malden, Mass assignor to Croydon Hospital Equipment Corporation, Boston, Mass, a corporation Application October 28, 1954, Serial No. 465,223 4 Claims. (CI. 34-90) This invention relates to improvements in drier units and is particularly directed to an improved clothes drier construction of the type designed for indoor use, though not restricted to such use.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a compact and portable unit, which will occupy a very small storage space when not in use and which can be set up easily and quickly for use as a heater, clothes drier or hair drier in any room of a dwelling.

A further object of this invention is to provide a tubular body member, which is adapted to be disposed in a vertical position and supported in such position by pivotally connected iegs, the body member having an open lower end and being provided with a blower and heating element above the lower end so that air drawn in through the open end is heated and passed exteriorly of the body member in a predetermined manner to heat the space surrounding the body member.

A further object of this invention is to provide the body member with adjustable air outlet means so that the heated air is directed in controlled fashion from the inside of the body member to the outside thereof and is so directed that it flows upwardly and outwardly therefrom at a point adjacent to the lower end and so that the heated air may be channeled and directed against one particular spot.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a drier which includes a tubular body member having an upper and a lower section, with the upper section housing a plurality of vertically sliding arms that are adapted to be raised and then moved to horizontal positions, radially extending from the body member and which are provided with means cooperating with means on the upper end of the upper section of the body member so as to locate the arms in such horizontal. positions normal to the body ranged that the air flows upwardly and outwardly over the arms.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a hair drying attachment which includes a flexible tube that is attached to the body member in such a manner that the entire output of warm air may be cut oil from the air outlet means and directed to and through the tube.

Another object of this invention is to provide an easily operated and controlled unit which includes a forced air means and heating element arranged so that air drawn in through the lower open end of the body member is heated and passed through an adjustable air outlet means, which controls the passage of the air to the space surrounding the unit or to a particular spot, the air also passing over an ultra violet ray deodorizer before it is discharged through the outlet means.

These and ancillary objects are attained by this invention, the preferred form of which is set forth in the fol lowing description and illustrated in the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. l is an elevational view of the drier, parts of the member, the an outlet means being so ar- 2,740,203 Patented Apr. 3, 1956 lower and upper sections thereof being shown in vertical section;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on line. 33 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 4 is a detailed of Fig. 2.

Referring now more particularly to the accompanying drawing, the drier unit includes an elongated tubular body member 10 which has a lower cylindrical section 12 and an upper coaxially-reduced cylindrical section 14. The lower section 12 has an open lower endv 16, which is disposed above the supporting surface by the means supporting the body member in a vertical position. Such means includes supporting legs 18, having non-skid rubber tips 20 on their lower ends. The legs are straight and are, provided in tripod fashion circumferentially of the body member for supporting the body member in vertical position. The upper ends of the legs are bent inwardly and pivotally attached by pivot pins 24 to pairs of supporting ears 22 which radially extend from the body member at its upper end. The legs are adapted to swing outwardly about the pivot pins 24 from the perpendicular positions of Fig. 1 to desired inclined positions, when the drier unit is in use. When the drier unit is stored the legs are vertically disposed alongside the drier unit and do not take up any extra storage space. The height of the body member in use is adjustable by means of the legs.

The lower cylindrical section 12 has a top wall 26 which is seemed thereto by a depending annular flange 28 that fits within the upper end of the lower cylindrical section 12, the top wall resting at its outer edge on the upper edge of the lower section 12. The top wall is formed with a depending convex center portion 30 hav ing a shoulder 32 formed around the outer edge of its concave side and facing upwardly. An annular collar 34 upstands from sectional view taken on line 44 tion 14. The bottom wall 36 of the upper section rests on the shoulder 32.

The upper section 14 forms a housing for a plurality of straight arms 38 which are adapted to be vertically disposed in the upper section with their inner ends resting on the bottom wall 36 and their upper ends projecting slightly through slots 40 formed in a head or cap member 42 on the upper end of the section 14. The cap 42 is a frusto-conical configuration and the slots 40 are formed in the upwardly and inwardly inclined side wall 44 thereof, the slots being elongated vertically and being spaced circumferentially around the sidewall. The slots are thus inclined to receive the upper protruding ends of the arms. The arms can be raised vertically from the upper section 14 until their inner, lower ends are disposed at the slots and the arms are almost completely raised from the upper section 14, whereupon the arms can be turned laterally extending or radiatingfrom the cap member and disposed normal to the upper body section 14. The. arms rest on the upper edge of the body section 14 and are provided at their inner ends with laterally extending pins 46 that project from the opposite sides thereof and are adapted to engage the solid portions of the cap member between or bridging the slots. The pins prevent the arms from being entirely withdrawn and locate them, in horizontal positions projecting outwardly from the body section 14. In such extended positions, the arms overlie the upper end 26 of the disposed parallel to the supporting surface. The arms are adapted to receive and support clothes, or other articles for drying and when they are extended from the the top wall, concentric to the shoulder, and supports the lower end of the upper cylindrical sec-- and brought downwardly into positions.

lower body position 12 andare cap member are spaced apart, circumferentially of the cap member and body member, sufiiciently to permit articles to be placed thereon and removed therefrom.

The top wall 26 of the lower body portion is vertically formed with circumferentially spaced, arcuate slots 48 which permit heated air currents, emanating from the interior of the lower body section to pass upwardly over and through the articles suspended from the arms.

An electrical heating element 59 is secured to the center of the convex center portion 30 of the top wall 26 and depends therefrom and a squirrel cage blower unit 52 is mounted inside the lower body section 12 below the heating element. The blower unit has its housing attached to a spider type bracket 54 that is fixed inside the lower body section and the outlet end of the blower end is bolted to the ring center portion of the spider and underlies the heating element Ell. An orthodox three way switch 56 is attached to the outside of the lower body section and controls the energization of the operating circuit for the operation of the blower and heater and a conventional rheostat 58 forms a part of the operating circuit so as to selectively permit the unit to operate on 500 to 1600 watts. An ultra violet ray deodorizer lamp unit 60 is mounted inside in the lower body portion, adjacent the open lower end 16 the axial intake of the blower, and is connected in the operating circuit in a conventional manner. in this respect, the operating circuit has not been shown since it is believed obvious that the circuit arrangement and connection for the heating element and blower can be easily efiected by anyone skilled in this art.

A hair drying attachment is provided and includes an elongated flexible tube 62, to the outer end of which any suitable outlet member may be attached such as one expressly formed to complement the contour of and fit over the head. The lower or inner end 64- of the tube is fixedly circumposed by a clamping ring 66 over a sleeve 68 which is rotatably disposed in an opening 70 formed in the top wall 26 and is held therein by an outwardly extending annular flange 72 on its lower end that engages the underside of the top wall 26. Suitable fastening means may be provided for securing the tube to the upper body section when the tube is not in use. When the hair drying attachment is in use, means is provided for closing off the openings 48 and directing the entire supply of heated air through the sleeve 68 and the tube 62. Such means includes an annular valve plate 74 which is rotatably secured to the underside of the top wall and is formed with arcuate openings 7 6 that are adapted to register with the openings 48. A spacer plate 78 is interposed between the top wall 26 and the plate 74 to space the wall and plate apart sufiiciently to enable the plate 74 to slide over the underside of the lower end of the sleeve 66. The spacer plate has openings 82 which register with the openings 48 formed in the top wall. The plate 74 is attached to the top wall by vertical bolt units 84 which also hold the spacer plate in place. The plate 74 has arcuate slots 86 which slide on the shanks of the bolts as the plate is oscillated from one position to another by a bolt 88 which is afiixed thereto and upstands through arcuate slots 90 in the spacer plate and top wall and terminates in a knob 92.

When the plate 74 is in the position shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the openings 76 therein are in registry with the openings 48 in the top wall and the bore of the sleeve 66 is closed off by the solid portion 74a of the plate 74. When it is desired to use the unit as a hair drier, the plate 74 is rotated in an anticlockwise direction and the solid portions 74a, 74b and 740 between the openings 76 underlie and close ed the openings 4-8. The opening 76a then communicates with the bore of the sleeve 66 and the entire output of heated air flows through the sleeve and tube.

The switch ,56 controls the separate operation of the heating element and blower and also the off and on operation of the entire unit. The unit is usable as a heater with the arms left inside the upper body section, as a clothes drier with the arms extended outwardly from the body member and as a hair drier with the outlet openings 48 closed off, the heated air passing into and through the tube 62. In the latter condition, the unit may be used for other tasks, as, for example, a dish drier, since the tube can be used to direct heated air to any desired space or spot for the desired purpose.

While the best known form of this invention has been shown and described herein, other forms may be realized as coming within the scope of my invention defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A drier of the type described comprising a vertically disposed tubular body member having air inlet means in its lower end, supporting legs connected to the body member for supporting it on a supporting surface in a vertical position with its lower end spaced above the supporting surface, a plurality of vertically slidable arms housed by the body member and said body member having an upper end formed with passage means through which the arms can vertically move, said upper end and arms being formed with cooperating stop means limiting the upward movement of the arms and enabling the arms to be turned downwardly and disposed laterally outwardly from the body member, a heating element mounted in the body member above the air inlet means, a blower mounted in the body member below the heating element, switch means controlling the heating element and the blower, adjustable air outlet means in the body member above the heating element and through which the heated air may pass upwardly to surround articles suspended from the laterally extending arms, and a tube attached to the body member in communication with the interior thereof for the passage therethrough of the heated air and said air outlet means including outlets in the body member and a valve means selectively closing off the outlets and the tube.

2. A drier of the type described comprising a vertically disposed tubular body member having air inlet means in its lower end, supporting legs connected to the body member for supporting it on a supporting surface in a vertical position with its lower end spaced above the supporting surface, a plurality of vertically slidable arms housed by the body member and said body member having an upper end formed with passage means through which the arms can vertically move, said upper end and arms being formed with cooperating stop means limiting the upward movement of the arms and enabling the arms to be turned downwardly and disposed laterally outwardly from the body member, a heating element mounted in the body member above the air inlet means, a blower mounted in the body member below the heating element, switch means controlling the heating element and the blower, adjustable air outlet means in the body member above the heating element and through which the heated air may pass upwardly to surround articles suspended from the lat erally extending arms, and a tube attached to the body member, said body member having an opening communicating the tube with the interior thereof, said air outlet means including outlets in the body member and a valve plate slidably carried by the body member and having openings selectively registrable with the outlets, one of said openings in the valve plate being registrable with the opening in the body member when the outlets are closed ed by the valve plate having its openings out of registry therewith.

3. A drier of the type described comprising a vertically disposed tubular body member including a lower cylindrical section provided with a top wall and air inlet means at its lower end and an upper cylindrical coaxially reduced section centrally seated on the top wall and having an upper end closed by a cap member, said cap member having slots, a plurality of arms vertically housed in the upper section and seated on the top wall and extending ing its convex side facing downwardly, a heating element 1 depending from the center of the convex face, a blower mounted in the lower section below the heating element and having an outlet positioned centrally of the section below the heating element and a rotatable valve plate attached to the top wall and having openings selectively 15 registerable with the openings in the top wall and means supporting the body member in a vertical position.

4. A drier as claimed in claim 3, wherein said top wall has an opening in which a sleeve is rotatably disposed, at

flexible tube connected to the sleeve and disposed exteriorly of the body member, said plate closing off said opening when the openings in the plate are registered with the outlets and said plate being movable to close off said outlets and register one of its openings with said opening whereby the entire heated air supply passes through the tube.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,221,351 Kempf Nov. 12, 1940 2,377,255 McCauley May 29, 1945 2,630,634 Alvarez Mar. 10, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 614,977 Great Britain Dec. 30, 1948- 620,909 'reat Britain Mar. 31, 1949 683,288 Great Britain Nov. 26, 1952 

